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National Geochemical Database—Reformatted Data from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) Program

By Steven M. Smith
Version 1.40 (2006)

This page is currently being rewritten to the Version 1.41 format.

Brief History and Description of Data

[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]

Totals of 3,630 sediment samples (from 1,818 locations) and 416 water samples were collected in the Tucson quadrangle from January, 1979 through August, 1980 as part of the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) Tucson Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The water samples were analyzed by SRL for uranium and 9 other elements and then sent on to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) for "supplemental analyses" (29 elements in waters). At 1,812 of the sediment sampling locations, 2 sediment fractions were collected, the S1 fraction (<100 mesh) and the S0 fraction (>100 mesh and <18 mesh). The second fraction was presumably collected to avoid windblown dust contamination. SRL only analyzed 42 of the sediment samples (for uranium and 16 other elements), and subsequently did not release an individual quadrangle report for Tucson.

A total of 1,801 sediment samples from SRL were sent to the ORGDP and analyzed for uranium and up to 31 additional elements. These data were released on microfiche by Oak Ridge as an abbreviated quadrangle report (GJBX-64(82)). The site coding information for Tucson quadrangle was summarized with several other western quadrangles in the Oak Ridge GJBX-51(82) report.

In 1982, SRL released a summary report and data files for 50 quadrangles in the Western United States. For the Tucson quadrangle, this report (GJBX-132(82)) contains the SRL analytical data and "supplemental" analytical data for the water samples. The sediment sample records contain the analytical data for the 42 sediment samples analyzed by SRL, but only site description data for the remaining sediment samples.

SRL analyses of light hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, propane, and butane) in ground waters were released in the GJBX-131(82) summary report for 44 western quadrangles and 3 eastern quadrangles within the United States. This report includes data for 336 of the Tucson quadrangle ground water samples.

Data for gold analyses of sediments by SRL neutron activation were released in the GJBX-135(82) summary report. The introduction of that report states:

"This report contains previously unreported neutron-activation analyses of gold in sediment samples determined at SRL. These data were not included in the standard SRL NURE data reports because the gold spectrum was not measured in the original analytical procedure and the report format was designed without the gold analyses being included. Gold analyses became available as the analytical procedure was refined, but the report format was not modified to incorporate these data."

Only those sediment samples that had detectable concentrations of gold by neutron activation analysis were given in the GJBX-135(82) report. Sediment samples with concentrations below detection limits were not reported and can only be ascertained by identifying which samples were actually analyzed by neutron activation at SRL.

The following is a list of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Tucson quadrangle. The actual number of records in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files may be greater because of the multiple records needed to preserve all the data.

These Tucson quadrangle samples were analyzed one or more of the following methods:

Sediment Samples

• SR1: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis - Neutron Counting of sediments for U.
• SR2: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for Al, Ce, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Sc, Sm, Th, Ti, V, and Yb. (Note: Au values were reported later for this method.)
• OR2: Oak Ridge Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for U.
• OR7: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of sediments for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Sc, Sr, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.

Water Samples

• SR4: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis - Neutron Counting of waters for U.
• SR6: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis of waters for Al, Br, Cl, Dy, F, Mg, Mn, Na, and V.
• SR-HE: Savannah River Helium Analysis of waters.
• SR-GC: Savannah River Gas Chromatography of waters for light hydrocarbons.
• OR13: Supplemental Analyses by Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of waters for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Sc, Si, Sr, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr. (Note: Nb and Th may be included in this method.)
• OR17: Supplemental Analyses by Oak Ridge Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of waters for As and Se.

Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of records from all of the above reports. The site information for every record in the ORGDP GJBX-64(82) quadrangle report was checked against the "equivalent" record in the SRL GJBX-132(82) western U.S. summary report and any major differences were noted in the REFORMAT comment field.

In the sediment data file, the data for 20 samples that were analyzed by both SRL and ORGDP could NOT be combined into a single record for each sample because of overlapping determinations for 12 elements. In the water data file, the SRL analyses and supplemental analyses could NOT be combined because of overlapping determinations for 5 elements. Therefore each sample that has two sets of analyses has two separate records - one for the SRL analysis and one for the ORGDP or supplemental analysis.

Hydrocarbon data from the GJBX-131(82) report were added to fields in the appropriate ground water records and this addition was noted for each record in the REFORMAT comment field.

Gold concentrations from the GJBX-135(82) report were added to the appropriate sediment records. A value of -0.01 (<0.01 ppm Au) was added to all other sediment samples determined to have been analyzed by SRL neutron activation. This value was chosen because 0.01 is the lowest reported gold concentration in the entire report.

Download The Data

The NURE HSSR data are now available online in two databases: The sediment database (also includes data for soils and some rocks) at http://tin.er.usgs.gov/nure/sediment/ and the water database at http://tin.er.usgs.gov/nure/water/. From these two websites, NURE HSSR data can be selected, examined, summarized, and downloaded by political boundaries (State and County), by quadrangle (1:250,000-scale, 1:100,000-scale, and 1:63,360-scale for Alaska or 1:24,000-scale for the Lower 48 States), and by hydrologic unit (drainage region, subregion, river basin, or sub-basin). Selected data can be downloaded as a dBase file, a shapefile, an HTML table, or ASCII text (tab- or comma-delimited).

Tucson Quadrangle Sediment Data - 3,650 records
Tucson Quadrangle Water Data - 792 records

Notes for Data Users

SRL collected separate samples for two fractions at 1812 of the sediment sampling locations. Samples with a suffix of "S0" on the SRLID consist of the fraction of sediment which passed a 18-mesh but did not pass a 100-mesh sieve. Samples with a suffix of "S1" on the SRLID consist of the fraction of sediment which passed a 100-mesh sieve. Due to fractionation of some elements between discretely sized sediment particles, analytical data may not be directly comparable for sediment samples with different sieve fractions.

Many records contain analytical values with insignificant digits. Most data should only have 2 or 3 significant digits. Differences after the second or third digit should be ignored.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Tucson Quadrangle

None found.

Tucson Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

• Cook, J.R., and Fay, W.M., 1982, Data report: Western United States: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-146-28, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-132(82), 33 p.
• Dromgoole, E.L., 1982, Report of analyses for light hydrocarbons in ground water: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-141-19, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-131(82), 14 p.
• Fay, W.M., and Cook, J.R., 1982, Gold analyses by neutron activation from SRL NURE samples: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-141-38, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-135(82), 45 p.
• Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1982, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for Tucson quadrangle, Arizona: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-419, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-64(82), microfiche only.
• Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1982, Supplement to hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data reports K/UR-405 and K/UR-408 through K/UR-443 [GJBX-52(82) through GJBX-88(82)]: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-444, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-51(82), 25 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Arizona NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE HSSR Data
Home Page: USGS National Geochemical Database - NURE HSSR data

Page written by Andrew W. Holt and Steven M. Smith
Contact: Steven M. Smith (smsmith@usgs.gov)
Version 1.10: July 29, 1999
Version 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.40: January 13, 2006

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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/quad/q_tucson.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:16 EST 2016